make_enum(name, variants: []EnumVariant) -> Type mints a nominal enum
from a variant list passed as a VALUE, not a hardcoded literal — the
open-ended form the channel-result constructors are special cases of.
Pure sx over declare/define; no compiler machinery.
Because variants is an ordinary comptime value, a non-generic builder
can ASSEMBLE it in a local before minting. examples/0620: build_level
fills a local array, then make_enum mints Level from it — exercising
define decoding a value-arg SLICE (decodeVariantElements' slice branch),
vs. the inline .[ … ] array the 0614-0618 examples pass directly.
No compiler change (locks existing capability). Suite green (678).
declare now takes the type's NAME — `declare(name) -> Type` — because the
compiler needs it at compile time to register the forward type, which is
what makes self-reference resolve. EnumInfo drops `name` (it lives on
declare now); define completes the handle's body in place (the slot is
already named).
Self-reference mechanism (evalComptimeType): before lowering a comptime
type expression, preregisterForwardTypes scans it (and a called ctor fn's
body) for `declare("Name")` calls and registers each as an empty forward
nominal type AND binds it as a type alias. The alias is essential: a
`Name :: ctor()` decl makes `Name` a const_decl author, so a `*Name`
self-reference resolves through the forward-ALIAS path
(type_aliases_by_source), which a bare findByName registration doesn't
satisfy. With both in place `*Name` resolves to the forward slot at lower
time; the interp's declare returns that same slot; define fills it.
List :: make_list();
make_list :: () -> Type {
h := declare("List");
return define(h, .enum(.{ variants = .[
EnumVariant.{ name = "cons", payload = *List },
EnumVariant.{ name = "nil", payload = void } ] }));
}
Verified: cons/nil construct + match (direct and through the pointer),
multi-node list traversal via a recursive `count(*List)`. meta.sx
RecvResult/TryResult + examples 0614/0615/0617 updated to declare(name);
full suite green (673).
Per the directive to strip reify entirely: the sx `reify(info)` one-shot is
removed. `define(handle, info)` now RETURNS the (completed) handle, so the
one-shot constructor chains as a single expression:
T :: define(declare(), .enum(.{ name = "T", variants = ... }));
- meta.sx: drop reify; RecvResult/TryResult use `define(declare(), …)`.
- interp .define returns the handle type_tag (was void); call.zig lowers it
with `Type` result and sets the info arg's target type to TypeInfo so the
intercepted call still infers the `.enum(…)` literal.
- returnExprMintsType: a type-fn body that returns `define(…)` (or a bodied
non-generic Type-returning sx helper) is comptime-evaluated.
- examples 0614 (direct) + 0615 (type-fn) use `define(declare(), …)`.
Full suite green (673). Files/docs still carry the old reify naming — the
rename sweep is the next commit.
Second slice of the re-architecture — the compiler now has ZERO type-
construction code beyond declare/define.
- instantiateTypeFunction: a type-fn body returning a computed Type (a call
to a non-generic, bodied, Type-returning fn) is comptime-evaluated with the
type bindings active, then renamed to the mangled instantiation name for
identity (renameNominalType). Replaces the old reify-call pattern-matching.
- DELETED: reifyType (lower/nominal.zig), findReturnReifyCall (lower/generic.zig),
and the stale inline-position reify gate in resolveTypeCallWithBindings.
- evalComptimeType (was evalComptimeTypeNamed): pure eval, no rename; the
type-fn caller renames explicitly. renameReifiedType → renameNominalType.
- The TYPE NAME now travels in the data: EnumInfo gains `name`, and define()
names the slot from it (the compiler derives no name from a binding LHS).
examples/0614/0615 carry `name = "..."`; RecvResult/TryResult set it too.
- field_type stays a reflection #builtin (reads a type); only construction
moved out. All reify mentions stripped from compiler source.
examples 0614/0615/0617 run on the floor. Full suite green (673).
First slice of the re-architecture. The compiler gains two comptime
type-construction builtins — declare() (mint an empty/undefined nominal
slot) and define(handle, info) (decode a TypeInfo VALUE + complete the
slot) — executed by the interpreter against a new `mint` TypeTable handle
(setMintTable). reify becomes PLAIN sx in meta.sx:
reify :: (info) -> Type { h := declare(); define(h, info); return h; }
`E :: f(...)` where f is a non-generic Type-returning fn (reify, and later
make_enum) is now comptime-evaluated via evalComptimeTypeNamed: wrap the
call in a throwaway comptime fn, run it through the interp with the mint
table enabled so declare/define mint the type, read back the type_tag, and
rename the anonymous slot to the binding name. The compiler has ZERO reify
knowledge at the decl site — the old `E :: reify` hook is deleted.
examples/0614 (inline reify) now runs on this floor. Full suite green (673).
INTERMEDIATE: reifyType + findReturnReifyCall still serve the type-fn path
(0615/0617) and will be deleted in the next slice (type-fn body
comptime-eval), after which the compiler has no reify code at all.
REIFY Phase 3.1. Add RecvResult($T) and TryResult($T) to meta.sx as
type-fns over reify (value-or-closed; value-or-empty-or-closed). They
need NO new compiler machinery — reify-of-a-literal in a type-fn body is
exactly the Phase 1 path — so the channel result types are pure sx
library code. examples/0617 green (both construct + match, incl.
payload-less .closed / .empty). Suite green (673 examples, 447 unit).
make_enum(variants) (3.2) and type_info (2.2) remain — both blocked on a
generalized reify reader (reifyType currently AST-walks a literal
TypeInfo). Plan/checkpoint updated.
REIFY Phase 0.0. Add the comptime type-metaprogramming surface as the
on-demand module modules/std/meta.sx (NOT the prelude — declaring its
data types in always-loaded core.sx interns them into every module's
type table and shifts every .ir snapshot):
- EnumVariant / EnumInfo / TypeInfo data types. TypeInfo's variant uses
the backtick raw escape `enum so it reads as the keyword.
- reify / type_info / field_type as bodyless #builtin decls.
Each builtin bails LOUDLY when reached unimplemented (no silent default):
- reify(...) in a :: type-alias position -> decl.zig .call branch
(also the Phase 0.2 construction hook); poisons the alias .unresolved.
- reify / field_type in any other type position ->
generic.zig resolveTypeCallWithBindings.
- type_info(...) in expression position -> call.zig tryLowerReflectionCall.
Unit test src/parser.test.zig (registered in root.zig) locks that the
decls parse. zig build test green (447 unit, 669 examples).
